A grand jury indictment accusing "Grim Sleeper" serial-killer suspect Lonnie Franklin Jr. with the murders of 10 women was returned Wednesday and unsealed today. What that means is that the case can proceed to trial.

While Franklin had already been charged with 10 murders and one attempted murder, the grand jury can fast track the case. The D.A.'s office:

Although the case was filed nearly a year ago, there never was a date scheduled for a preliminary hearing of the evidence, which would have been the next stage of the proceedings. At a preliminary hearing, a judge determines if there is sufficient evidence for a felony defendant to stand trial.

The indictment returned Wednesday afternoon by the Los Angeles County Grand Jury following a little more than six-day hearing supercedes the criminal complaint and moves the case directly to trial.